Introduction

大家好 and welcome!

Over the upcoming year, this blog will serve as an outlet for my Fulbright research on Taiwan’s green energy sector. I am based at Tung Hai University in Taichung where I will be examining the Taiwan Strait Climate Change Incubator (TSCCI) project’s impact on Taichung City. The TSCCI project is a cross-strait partnership between Taichung, ROC and Xiamen, PRC that endeavors to create eco-cities in both urban areas and further cross-strait economic and cultural exchange.

Although the TSCCI eco-city proposal for Taichung (co-drafted by the Tung Hai University Department of Architecture) is my main research focus, I will use its recommendations and the issues it raises as a vehicle to explore Taiwan’s pathway towards sustainable cities.

Why Taiwan?

While China currently garners much of the world’s attention in regards to East Asian energy development, a deeper examination and understanding of Taiwan’s energy policy and urban development may be more instructive for the West.

In contrast to the exponentially growing metropolises of China, Taiwan’s cities are already built and their populations relatively stable. Thus, like many older cities in the U.S. and Europe, Taiwan’s urban areas require precise sustainability retrofits, not construction of entirely new metro areas. Taiwan also enjoys a vibrant democracy and free press. Thus, the fusion of electoral politics and the media (as in the U.S.) are a major factor in determining Taiwan’s ability to enact energy legislation and transition to a green economy.

Taiwan’s current level of dependence on imported fossil fuel is unsustainable. However, Taiwan already possesses advantages that lend themselves to exact rapid and lasting change. Taiwan has excellent human capital, academic institutions, business infrastructure and entrepreneurship, and technical innovation. The government has also recently passed energy legislation calling for the creation of pilot eco-cities and directed funding to stimulate targeted sectors of green industry.

I believe that a closer examination of how Taiwan greens its cities will identify solutions that can be adapted to first-world cities globally. I hope that this blog will be a resource for those interested in Taiwan’s eco-city development, green energy policy, cross-strait energy cooperation, and scalable solutions to green urban areas internationally.